Sean Long (footballer)

Sean Long

Personal information
Full name	Sean Martin Long [1]
Date of birth	(1995-05-02) 2 May 1995 (age 29) [2]
Place of birth	Dublin, Republic of Ireland
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) [2]
Position(s)	Full-back
Team information
Current team	Forest Green Rovers
Number	3
Youth career
0000–2012	Cherry Orchard
2012–2013	Reading
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2013–2017	Reading	0	(0)
2015–2016	→ Luton Town (loan)	9	(0)
2016	→ Braintree Town (loan)	9	(0)
2016–2017	→ Cambridge United (loan)	7	(0)
2017	→ Lincoln City (loan)	14	(0)
2017–2018	Lincoln City	17	(0)
2018–2024	Cheltenham Town	190	(7)
2024–	Forest Green Rovers	20	(0)
International career
	Republic of Ireland U16
	Republic of Ireland U17
	Republic of Ireland U18
2013–2014	Republic of Ireland U19	12	(0)
2014–2016	Republic of Ireland U21	11	(1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:17, 2 January 2025 (UTC)

Sean Martin Long (born 2 May 1995) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a full-back for National League club Forest Green Rovers.

Club career

Reading

Long joined Reading from Irish club Cherry Orchard in 2012. ^[3] He made his professional debut on 26 August 2014 as a second-half substitute in a 1–0 League Cup win over Scunthorpe United. ^[4]

On 16 October 2015, Long signed for League Two club Luton Town on an initial one-month loan. ^[5] He made his debut for the club a day later in a 2–1 defeat away to Crawley Town. ^[6] Long made four further appearances including three in League Two and one in the FA Cup before his loan was extended on 16 November 2015 until 2 January 2016, continuing to cover for Stephen O'Donnell who was recovering from a double hernia injury. ^[7] He returned to Reading on 5 January 2016 after making 11 appearances for the club in all competitions. ^[8]

On 15 March 2016, Long signed for National League club Braintree Town on loan until the end of the season. ^[9] He made his debut for the club later that day in a 0–0 draw with Gateshead. ^[10] Long made nine league appearances for Braintree, ^[11] helping them to secure a place in the National League play-offs after a 3–0 win at home to Altrincham on 30 April 2016 and would face Grimsby Town in the semi-finals over two legs. ^[12] He featured in the semi-final first leg as Braintree earned a 1–0 away win to gain a slender advantage over their opponents. ^[13] Long featured again in the semi-final second leg, as Braintree were defeated 2–0 after extra time and 2–1 on aggregate, ending their hopes of promotion. ^[14]

On 9 May 2016, Long was one of 15 Reading youth-team players offered a new contract by the club, ^[15] with confirmation of his new deal being signed coming on 1 July 2016. ^[16]

On 28 July 2016, following a pre-season trial, Long signed a six-month loan deal with League Two club Cambridge United. ^[17] He made his debut on the opening day of 2016–17 in a 1–1 draw at home to Barnet. ^[18] Long made 12 appearances and returned to Reading following the expiration of his loan spell. ^{[18] [19]}

Lincoln City

On 5 January 2017, Long signed a loan deal with National League club Lincoln City for the remainder of 2016–17 with a view to a permanent transfer. ^[20] He made his debut two days later in Lincoln's 2–2 draw away to Ipswich Town in the FA Cup third round, having entered the match as a stoppage time substitute and completed the loan spell with 19 appearances. ^[11]

Reading announced that Long would be released when his contract expired at the end of the season. ^[21] He was named in Lincoln's retained list for 2017–18. ^[22] Long came on as a 95th-minute substitute as Lincoln beat Shrewsbury Town 1–0 at Wembley Stadium in the 2018 EFL Trophy Final on 8 April 2018. ^[23]

Cheltenham Town

Long signed for League Two club Cheltenham Town on 26 June 2018 on a two-year contract after rejecting a new contract with Lincoln. ^[24] He signed a one-year extension to his contract in September 2019. ^[25] Cheltenham reached the League Two play-offs in 2019–20 with a fourth-place finish on points per game after the season was suspended in March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, ^[26] and were beaten 3–2 on aggregate by Northampton Town in the semi-final. ^[27] He made 22 appearances and scored two goals in 2020–21 as Cheltenham won the League Two title and promotion to League One. ^{[28] [29]}

On 22 May 2024, the club announced the player had rejected a new contract and would be leaving. ^[30]

Forest Green Rovers

On 24 May 2024, it was confirmed that Long had signed for newly-relegated National League club Forest Green Rovers. ^[31]

International career

Long has represented the Republic of Ireland at under-16, under-17, under-18 and under-19 level. ^[32] He made 12 appearances for the under-19 team between 2013 and 2014. ^[33]

Long was called up to the under-21s for the first time in May 2015, ^[34] along with Reading teammates Pierce Sweeney and Shane Griffin.

Career statistics

As of match played 1 January 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			FA Cup		League Cup		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Reading	2013–14 [35]	Championship	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2014–15 [36]	Championship	0	0	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
	2015–16 [37]	Championship	0	0	—		0	0	—		0	0
	2016–17 [18]	Championship	0	0	0	0	—		—		0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	1	0	—		1	0
Luton Town (loan)	2015–16 [37]	League Two	9	0	2	0	—		—		11	0
Braintree Town (loan)	2015–16 [11]	National League	9	0	—		—		2 [a]	0	11	0
Cambridge United (loan)	2016–17 [18]	League Two	7	0	0	0	1	0	4 [b]	0	12	0
Lincoln City (loan)	2016–17 [11]	National League	14	0	2	0	—		3 [c]	0	19	0
Lincoln City	2017–18 [38]	League Two	17	0	1	0	1	0	7 [d]	0	26	0
	Total		31	0	3	0	1	0	10	0	45	0
Cheltenham Town	2018–19 [39]	League Two	5	0	0	0	0	0	1 [b]	0	6	0
	2019–20 [40]	League Two	34	1	3	0	1	0	5 [e]	1	43	2
	2020–21 [28]	League Two	22	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	23	2
	2021–22 [41]	League One	39	1	3	0	2	0	0	0	44	1
	2022–23 [42]	League One	45	1	1	0	1	0	4 [b]	0	51	1
	2023–24 [43]	League One	45	2	1	0	1	0	1 [b]	0	48	2
	Total		190	7	9	0	5	0	11	1	215	8
Forest Green Rovers	2024–25 [44]	National League	20	0	1	0	—		1 [c]	0	22	0
Career total			266	7	15	0	8	0	28	1	317	8

1. Appearances in National League play-offs
2. Appearance(s) in EFL Trophy
3. Appearance(s) in FA Trophy
4. Six appearances in EFL Trophy, one in League Two play-offs
5. Three appearances and one goal in EFL Trophy, two appearances in League Two play-offs

Honours

Reading

• U21 Premier League Cup: 2013–14 ^[45]

Lincoln City

• National League: 2016–17 ^[11]
• EFL Trophy: 2017–18 ^[23]

Cheltenham Town

• EFL League Two: 2020–21 ^{[29] [46]}

References

1. "EFL: Retained list: 2015/16" (PDF). English Football League. p. 39. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
2. "Sean Long". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
3. "U19 Squad profiles: 2013–14". Football Association of Ireland. 14 August 2013. Archived from the original on 27 August 2014.
4. "Taylor strikes late to secure cup win". Reading F.C. 26 August 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
5. "Town sign full-back Sean Long on loan from Reading". Luton Town F.C. 16 October 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
6. Lawson, Ross (17 October 2015). "Report: Crawley Town 2–1 Luton Town". Luton Town F.C. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
7. "Sean Long: Reading defender extends Luton Town loan spell". BBC Sport. 16 November 2015. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
8. "Sean Long returns to Reading". Luton Town F.C. 5 January 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
9. "Braintree: Full-back Sean Long signs on loan until the end of the season". BBC Sport. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
10. "Braintree Town 0–0 Gateshead". BBC Sport. 15 March 2016. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
11. "S. Long". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
12. "Braintree Town 3–0 Altrincham". BBC Sport. 30 April 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
13. Shepka, Phil (5 May 2016). "Grimsby Town 0–1 Braintree Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
14. "Braintree Town 0–2 Grimsby Town (agg: 1–2, aet)". BBC Sport. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
15. "Contract offers made to Academy talent". Reading F.C. 9 May 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
16. "15 youngsters sign new pro deals with Reading". Reading F.C. 1 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
17. "Cambridge United sign full back Sean Long on six month loan deal". Cambridge United F.C. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
18. "Games played by Sean Long in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
19. Beyeler, Marc (3 January 2017). "League 2 transfer rumours: Keith Keane leaves Cambridge United to join Rochdale, Leyton Orient pair leave the club". Cambridge News. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
20. Whiley, Mark (5 January 2017). "Reading defender Sean Long joins Lincoln City with view to permanent move". Lincolnshire Echo. Lincoln. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
21. "Club offer contracts to young talent". Reading F.C. 12 May 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
22. "Retained list for 2017/18 season". Lincoln City F.C. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
23. Scott, Ged (8 April 2018). "Lincoln City 1–0 Shrewsbury Town". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 April 2018.
24. "Sean Long: Cheltenham Town sign Lincoln City full-back on two-year deal". BBC Sport. 26 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
25. Palmer, Jon (27 September 2019). "Cheltenham Town's former Lincoln City defender Sean Long signs extended deal". Gloucestershire Live. Local World. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
26. "League One & League Two clubs vote to end seasons early". BBC Sport. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
27. Garry, Tom (22 June 2020). "Cheltenham Town 0–3 Northampton Town (agg: 2–3): Cobblers seal comeback win to reach Wembley". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
28. "Games played by Sean Long in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
29. "League Two: 2020/21: Current table". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
30. "Cheltenham Town: Liam Sercombe, Luke Southwood and Sean Long to leave club". BBC Sport. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
31. "Cheltenham's Sercombe and Long join Forest Green". BBC Sport. 24 May 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
32. "News Archive". Cherry Orchard F.C. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
33. "Sean Long". SoccerScene.ie. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
34. "Long, Sweeney and Griffin get Ireland U21s call". Reading F.C. 14 May 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
35. "Games played by Sean Long in 2013/2014". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
36. "Games played by Sean Long in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
37. "Games played by Sean Long in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
38. "Games played by Sean Long in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
39. "Games played by Sean Long in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
40. "Games played by Sean Long in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
41. "Games played by Sean Long in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
42. "Games played by Sean Long in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
43. "Games played by Sean Long in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
44. "Games played by Sean Long in 2024/2025". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
45. "Reading turn tables on Man City to lift U21 PL Cup". Premier League. 19 April 2014. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
46. "Cheltenham: Squad details: 2020/21". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 17 May 2021.

External links

• Sean Long profile at the Cheltenham Town F.C. website
• Sean Long profile at the Football Association of Ireland website
• Sean Long at Soccerbase